Modern Art Museum

On my way to the Modern Art Museum I honestly had no idea what to expect. I think I went to a modern art museum when I went to Spain sophomore year, but I honestly do not remember the types of sculptures and paintings that were present. I was pleasantly surprised at what I found in the Fort Worth museum though. 

It was almost too quiet in the building for as large as it was but as I ventured further into the museum’s depths the silence grew on me, as well as the strange paintings and sculptures that surrounded me. I was expecting for some of the so called “art” to not fancy my interest and some did indeed prove to be a bore. By others though I was truly fascinated. I found myself wanting some of the designs and pictures for my future home.

One painting that stood out in particular to me is a painting called “Jar of Olives Falling,” by Edward Ruscha. This painting is a simple one. The background is a golden color that   fades into lighter shades as it goes to the bottom. In the upper, right-hand side, there is a jar of olives that is depicted as falling by having bits of olive juice and individual olives coming out of the jar. At the time, I could not realize why this painting was so intriguing to me, but as I have thought about it more after my visit I realize I like it because of how simple and clean it is.

Another piece of work that blew my mind was a series of guns that were morphed to form optical illusions. Each gun was flattened, stretched, or pinched into a form that made them look like they were pointing a certain way in which it could have been pointing at you or at another object. As I walked closer to the different pieces, some of the guns were literally flattened, the wood and all. The optical illusion of the guns actual began to hurt my head and I had to go into the next room, but it literally blew my mind away. 

The way the water came right up to the building and the view of the metal trees fighting was intriguing. Every time I turned the corner and saw the view, it was so cool to see the water hugging the side of the building. It was, to say the least, modern. 

Some pieces that I was not impressed with was the different colored Standard gas station paintings. I did not see the point to them. They all had a different variation of color and some had another object added to it as well, including an additional sign, an olive, and a ripped magazine. 

Something that actually frustrated me about the modern art museum were the paintings that I could have painted when I was five. What I mean by that is the paintings that are just colored boxes or smudges of colors that are not patterned in any artistic ways. These paintings were not unique or intriguing to me, but were upsetting because I felt like if I was born in the right time period I could have painted them and gotten money for them. 

Overall, I had a good experience with the modern art museum. It was interesting to see and I felt really peaceful during and after my visit. I would definitely go and visit again.